Enormous 19-foot, 250-pound creature is left at California reptile zoo. See it
A creature was dropped off at a California reptile zoo that was so massive, one handler said it was one of the biggest they’ve ever seen — and might even be the biggest one in the world.
“This is Cucumber. She is our Burmese python here at the Reptile Zoo,” Laura Brewer, operations manager at the zoo, says while sitting right next to the python in a video posted to the zoo’s Facebook page May 17. “She was a donation. We’ve had her for about four months. She is enormous.”
The video shows Brewer sitting between the python and a wall of the snake’s enclosure as she compares the size of their bodies.
The 19-foot-long, 250-pound snake is so big she wolfs down 10-pound rabbits, Brewer said in the video.
“She may be the largest one,” Brewer says. “I can’t even explain how girthy she is. It’s incredible.”
Brewer then shows the size of her thigh to the python’s body, saying the snake is twice the size.
Brewer goes on to explain that Burmese pythons are the third largest snake behind reticulated pythons, which are the longest, and anacondas, which are the heaviest.
“These guys are so cool to be able to interact with because they’re actually very sweet,” she said. “So even though she’s such a huge Burmese python, she’s been interacted with on and off for the last … I mean her whole life, 25 years.”
The zoo did not respond to McClatchy News’ request for information about where the python was kept before she was dropped off at the zoo. Brewer said the snake’s previous owners mentioned that she loves to relax in water in the summertime.
“With a little bit of socialization, having us come through and be with her, she’s tamed down. She’s so sweet,” Brewer said. “We have to be very aware of her, obviously, but it’s been cool to be able to sort of formulate that relationship.”
Several people in the comments joked about the snake’s size — and how easy they thought it looked for her to eat a human.
“Better watch her,” someone said. “She is big enough to eat you.”
Others commented saying they couldn’t imagine where the snake had been kept before she was donated to the zoo.
“Dropped off? By who, and why?” someone asked.
Fountain Valley is about a 40-mile drive southeast from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published May 19, 2025 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Enormous 19-foot, 250-pound creature is left at California reptile zoo. See it."
